Among cataclysmic events that have shaped India’s post independence history, none compare with the conflict ‘in’ and ‘over’ the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmir is truly unique as not only is it the nub of the Indo-Pak feud, but also with her other adversary – China. Historically speaking, Kashmir has remained a frontline ever since the Great Game. In view of China’s growing outreach and the fact that Kashmir’s occupied territory link both India’s adversaries, it portends volatility in the India-Pakistan-China triangular relationship. Brig Amar Cheema’s well–researched endeavour recounts the Kashmir imbroglio beyond episodic accounts but by providing the record in continuum; provides a broader perspective. The Crimson Chinar delivers a blow-by-blow account of the many ‘wars,’ and continues the narrative through the phases of ‘No War-No Peace,’ ‘insurgency’ and ‘limited war’ that have progressively ravaged the state. The context and geo-strategic environment has been re-created based on in-depth research and captured the rationale of the times. The important take away being; ‘wherever’ and ‘whenever’ India has responded ‘pro-actively’ and with determination, results have been significantly different; 1965, 1971 and Siachen being prime examples. With myriad external and internal dimensions, Kashmir continues to cast shadows on the progression of the sub-continent. Peace remains as elusive as it was in the forties; if anything, the adversaries – both known and unknown, have grown stronger. While the reasons for the conflict may have changed with the times, the underlying causes remain as profound as they were decades ago.

The Shias of Pakistan are the world's second largest Shia community after that of Iran, but comprise only 10-15 per cent of Pakistan's population. In recent decades Sunni extremists have increasingly targeted them with hate propaganda and terrorism, yet paradoxically Shias have always been fully integrated into all sections of political, professional and social life without suffering any discrimination. In mainstream politics, the Shia- Sunni divide has never been an issue in Pakistan. Shia politicians in Pakistan have usually downplayed their religious beliefs, but there have always been individuals and groups who emphasised their Shia identity, and who zealously campaigned for equal rights for the Shias wherever and whenever they perceived these to be threatened. Shia 'ulama' have been at the forefront of communal activism in Pakistan since 1949, but Shia laymen also participated in such organisations, as they had in pre-partition India. Based mainly on Urdu sources, Rieck's book examines, first, the history of Pakistan's Shias, including their communal organisations, the growth of the Shia 'ulama' class, of religious schools and rivalry between "orthodox" "ulama" and popular preachers; second, the outcome of lobbying of successive Pakistan governments by Shia organisations; and third, the Shia-Sunni conflict, which is increasingly virulent due to the state's failure to combat Sunni extremism.

India, Pakistan and the Secret Jihad explores the history of jihadist violence in Kashmir, and argues that the violent conflict which exploded after 1990 was not a historical discontinuity, but, rather, an escalation of what was by then a five-decade old secret war. Praveen Swami addresses three key issues: the history of jihadist violence in Jammu and Kashmir, which is examined as it evolved from 1947-48 onwards the impact of the secret jihad on Indian policy-making on Jammu and Kashmir, and its influence on political life within the state why the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir acquired such intensity in 1990. This new work will be of much interest to students of the India-Pakistan conflict, South Asian politics and security studies in general.